Wednesday, September 19, 2012

WashIt - designed for both public and private use - allows you to combine showering and clothes-washing in order to save water

Perhaps inspired by Britain's constant drought warnings and reminders to 'use water wisely', an inventor has come up with a combined washing machine and shower.'Washit' allows users to give their clothes a good soaking while they take one themselves, with a unique pump system that uses your shower run-off to give your clothes their first rinse.

How to use: The user loads the washing machine, then steps in, and within moments their grey-water begins cleaning their clothes

If that sounds a little unhygienic, rest assured it is just the first rinse-cycle which uses your cast-off water to wash your cast-offs.Turkish designer Ahmet Burak Aktas hopes combining the water will cut down on the 150 litres of water used for a 15-minute shower and the 38 litres used on a typical wash-cycle The project is the work of industrial design student Aktas, whose interests are in engineering, industrial design and product design.

Early designs: Ahmet's thinking can be seen in the concept drawings, working out how best to combine the two washing chores

He listed the concept on the Behance Network, which aims to use the internet to bring creative projects to life without the the red tape and beuracracy of large companies.The design comes in two forms: a secured unit for showers in public places, and a domestic product for your bathroom.

If the device is placed in a public space, the door to the washing machine is placed within the shower

Aktas said: 'Washit is a product that changes our daily routines. It is responsible to our most precious resource: water.'With Washit, washing clothes in piles will become a thing of the past. Every time that user wants to take a shower, it will be an opportunity to wash a few pieces of clothes without using any extra water.'Washit uses a closed plumbing system with two water pumps and three filters - carbon, organic and chemical. The unit also houses a heater, UV filters and a water storage unit.

Filters keep the greywater clean for a clothes wash, and can be replaced when they get too old

While users have a shower, Washit gather graywater from the shower cabinet and sends it to the water storage, first going through the filters.Aktas said: So all the water in storage is cleaned and ready to be used again either for showering and washing clothes.'After the shower, user can take back his washed clothes or leave them there for Washit to dry. Washit refills itself from water main in case of water loss.'